At Least We Have Each Other
by Verkaiking
Summary: A few Chris/Eva one-shots for the Miami Medical crowd.
1. First Encounters

**_So my friend Kristin and I are big Miami Medical fans and even bigger Chris/Eva shippers, but we noticed there's not that much fanfiction out there for this ship or this show in general, so we gave each other prompts to write about these two adorable idiots. This is the first one she gave me._**

**_Also, she writes gorgeous Outlaw Queen fics so make sure you follow her on Tumblr and read her stuff, her blog is_ filledwithlight**

_**Prompt is: What happens when they first meet?**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

He's made it. Finally, he's made it big, and he is going to celebrate accordingly.

Chris Deleo, trauma surgeon at Miami Trauma One, how badass is that?! He still has trouble believing that he beat all the other applicants, that he has been chosen to be part of the country's top tier of trauma surgery royalty. Surveying his new apartment, Chris sighs, dumping his CDs back into the box he'd been unpacking them from and grabbing his jacket on the way out the door. Tomorrow is his first day on the job, so he knows better than to get plastered, but one celebratory drink never killed anyone, right?

He is new to this area of Miami, so he isn't sure exactly where to go, but there don't seem to be that many options within walking distance, so he wonders the streets in his bike, enjoying the warm air as it blows against him. He is on top of the world.

The intimate but chipper setting of a small outdoor pub catches his eye as he rides past it, and he stops to take a look. Tiki torches adorn the area where tables with mismatched wooden chairs are laid out, a giant hut serving as the bar while smooth salsa rhythms play somewhere in the background. It's about four blocks away from the hospital, he notices, so there are bound to be first year residents or other doctors there, and he figures this might be as good a time as any to socialize with his colleagues.

But nothing could have prepared him for the sight that graces him as he enters the space. The tables are all full, but the counter is empty except for one person, a woman, and what a woman she is. The smooth, dark waves of her short hair fall gracefully around her face, bouncing as she moves her head when talking to the bartender. She's wearing a short black halter dress, her back on display, showcasing gorgeous tan skin. She is sitting sideways on one of the tall barstools, one long leg crossed over the other as she sips the last of her drink. Chris can't really see her face from where he stands, but he doesn't need to, he already knows she's the most breathtaking creature he's ever set eyes on.

He approaches the bar quietly, calmly leaning over the counter to ask the bartender for two shots of tequila and slipping one to her, finally looking at her up close. He'd had a line already formed in his head, something about how a gorgeous lady such as her should not be drinking alone, but the moment he sets eyes on her, he is done for. There's a golden hue to her skin as it catches the dim glow from the lights that line the bar, her lips are soft and plump and pink, and he feels tingles run through him as he imagines nibbling them. Her eyes are a deep, intriguing shade of brown, he notices, with a fire that lights them up and thick lashes that flutter as she focuses her attention on him.

"Can I help you?" she asks, sassy, but not altogether annoyed. Chris has to shake his head before he finds words to say back to her.

"I'm celebrating, might as well do so with the most beautiful woman in the room," he winks, his voice low as he pushes the shot a little closer to her. _Smooth, Deleo, very smooth, you got this._

"Celebrating, huh?" she asks in amusement.

"Oh yeah, big things are happening for me, starting tomorrow," he tells her, grinning at her while his eyes roam her form, taking in every detail.

"You sound very sure of yourself, cowboy," she fires back.

"It's Chris, actually," he tells her.

"I like 'cowboy' better," she replies with the most seductive little smirk he has ever seen, and he can't help but stare at her in awe.

Together, they down their shots, and she thanks him for the treat before she grabs her things and makes to leave, but Chris is faster, gently grabbing her hand before she can fully stand up from her seat.

"Oh come on, I just got here! Don't leave me to party all by my lonesome," he tells her with a pout, his eyes pleading, and he can see that her lips are twitching with the effort of hiding her smile, so he tugs her hand closer and drops his voice to a near whisper.

"Besides, I don't even know your name yet," he states, and she seems to take a moment to consider her response. In the seconds that tick by while she decides whether or not to introduce herself, Chris orders another round of tequila, and sets the shot in front of her, looking at it expectantly. She gulps it in seconds, slamming the glass against the bar a little before she looks at him again.

"So, your name?" he prompts, and she shakes her head.

"Guess it," she says. She likes to play with him, and he can't be more thrilled.

They spend the next ten minutes or so laughing at his suggestions of what her name may be, and then they drift off into other topics of conversation, like the fact that he's never had peppermint chocolate chip ice cream, or that she hates the taste of apples, or that he's never been outside of Florida, or that she likes to swim, or that neither of them understand how anyone can hate pineapple on pizza, any and all manner of random, silly things, and all throughout their conversation there are these gestures, this _connection_, a brush of her fingers against his arm as she speaks, or a slight stutter in her breathing when he leans closer, or her hand touching his knee when she laughs at one of his jokes, or his eyes darkening when she bites her lip and the tiny smirk that she gives him when she notices.

There's a moment, when she smiles at yet another of his cheesy attempts at flattery, that Chris determines in his mind that this woman has to be an illusion, because there is no possible way that someone can be this fun and beautiful and genuine all at the same time. She's still grinning at him, and he wants nothing more than to kiss her, to see if her lips taste as sweet as they look, but as he leans forward, she pushes him back, shaking her head with a laugh.

"I should go, I have work in the morning," she tells him, and he realizes that it's not some cop-out excuse she's giving him to try to get away, that she's not scared or distrusting of him, but she really does have an early morning to think about, and that's the only reason she's not letting this go any further.

He does not ask for her number, making plans in his head to stop by this same bar tomorrow after work. She's a regular here, it seems, so he knows he'll find her again. Chris smiles at her, nods and thanks her for the lovely time, planting a kiss on her cheek and watching her get up. When she walks away, he turns around in his seat to seek her out.

"I still don't know your name!" he calls after her, and she pauses, turning to look at him with that wicked grin of hers.

"Eva," she says at last, and he exhales in relief.

"Well, Eva, it was nice to meet you," he tells her, and his smile is true, happy.

"You too," she says pleasantly before resuming her walk.

"I'll see you around, Eva?!" he shouts when she reaches the door of the bar, and she looks over her shoulder at him.

"Maybe," she says, finally walking out the door.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next day, Chris arrives at the hospital in great spirits. The smile he's sporting is the same one he'd carried all the way back to his apartment and into bed the night before, and it had nothing to do with his excitement over his new job, and everything to do with the gorgeous brunette he had met at the bar.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Dr. Rayner?" he asks the girl at the front desk, and before she can answer, a large man with a friendly smile pops up from behind the counter.

"You the new guy?" he asks, and Chris nods, offering his hand.

"Chris Deleo," he says.

"Tuck Brody, nursing staff," the man replies as he walks around the place like he owns it, and Chris instantly likes the guy.

"Dr. Rayner is at a conference," Tuck continues as he leads Chris to the locker rooms, "he said you should report to Dr. Zambrano instead."

"Alright, where can I find this Dr. Zambrano?"

"Fifth floor, OR-3, elevators are down the hall and to the left," Tuck replies before walking away.

"Alright, thanks man!" Chris says.

"No problem, welcome aboard," Tuck says with a wave of his hand, leaving Chris alone in the locker room to change.

Once he reaches the fifth floor a few minutes later, he starts to feel those traitorous first-day-of-work jitters, but he pushes them back as best he can, scrubbing in and getting ready.

"Who's this?" a muffled voice asks when he enters the room, and Chris senses something familiar in the voice, but can't quite place it. Walking further inside, he addresses the entire team.

"Hello, I uh… I'm looking for Dr. Zambrano? I'm Chris Deleo, new trauma fellow," he says, and a head lifts from the patient to look at him.

All breath leaves him as he looks at her. She's wearing a cap, scrubs, goggles and mask, concealing most of her face, but he would recognize those chocolate colored eyes anywhere.

"Ah, the fresh meat has arrived," she says with satisfaction, and he can tell she's smiling by the way the corners of her eyes wrinkle and her cheeks lift up from under the mask.

"Eva?" he asks, astonished.

"That's Dr. Zambrano to you," she says, and he can tell she's full on smirking now.

"Ooh, authoritative, I like that," he replies without missing a beat, and she shakes her head and goes back to work.

When the surgery's over, Chris runs up to Eva in the hall, calling out her name again.

"I thought I told you to call me Dr. Zambrano?" she asks, but there's no malice in her tone.

"Eva's shorter," he winks.

"Fine, I suppose I'll just go back to calling you 'cowboy' then," she replies, crossing her arms and looking at him.

"Did you know who I was last night?" he asks, dropping the flirting for now.

"Actually no," she answers, shaking her head with a laugh, "I wouldn't have flirted with you if I knew you'd show up here today, believe me."

"Careful, I could have you arrested for sexual harassment, boss lady."

"Oh shut up, you loved it. And I'm not the boss, I'm only in charge until Dr. Rayner gets back."

"Okay so, _temporary_ boss lady," he smirks. "Wait, how long have you been here?"

"Three years, plus my residency," she tells him, and his eyes go wide.

"Three years?! How is that even possible? You can't be that much older than me, and I've only just started!"

"Advanced placement," she says with a satisfied smile.

"Huh… sexy _and _smart, I'm impressed," he replies, and she rolls her eyes at his compliment.

"For what it's worth, I did have a great time last night," she says after a moment of silence.

"So did I. So much so, in fact, that I think we should do it again sometime," he says, wiggling his eyebrows at her playfully. Eva opens her mouth to reply, but Tuck interrupts them as he exits the elevator, walking hurriedly towards her.

"Dr. Zambrano, we've got incoming. Two car crash victims, one with multiple fractures and possible internal bleeding, the other in need of an arm amputation," he reports, and they both nod, joining Tuck in the elevator and heading down.

Once down in the lobby, Eva walks towards the main door to receive the first patient, leaving Chris to wait for the second. Before she gets to the door, however, she turns around and looks at him, smirking as she talks.

"Count me in for drinks after work, but let's get one thing clear, if I go, it'll be as friends. I don't date my coworkers," she says in answer to his invitation, and he smiles, looking down and shaking his head.

"What if I quit?!" he calls out after her, and she turns around, snapping her gloves into place as she walks backwards to the door.

"That would make you an idiot, and I don't date those either," she says with a wink, leaving him to chuckle in her wake.

"Okay, then, friends it is… for now," he says to himself, stepping out to receive his first patient.

* * *

**_I love these two so much... I'm gonna go watch this show again now._**

**_-B_**


	2. I Need You

**_Second installment for my lovely friend Kris!_**

**_Prompt was: a one-night stand after they lose a patient. Years later, they haven't dealt with their feelings._**

* * *

Eva entered her apartment in tears, slamming the door behind her and hurling her bag at the floor angrily. It wasn't _fair_, things like this should not happen.

Still crying, she collapsed on her couch, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

"Eva!" she heard someone call as they banged on the door.

"Eva, please!" he sounded desperate as he kept knocking.

"Go away, Chris, I just want to be alone right now," she said calmly as she could, hoping her answer would deter him, but she should've known better.

"I know you're hurting, and I don't care how much you tell me you don't need someone, we both know that you do! Now open the goddamn door!" he yelled back, but she stayed put. That is, until the knocking stopped and she heard a thump that told her he'd slumped down to the ground, defeated.

"Please Eva, I need you too," he said in a low, strangled voice, the strength gone out of him, and that did it. Wiping her tears away, she got up and unlocked the door.

Chris was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up slightly, his elbows leaning against them as he hid his face in his hands. Eva sank to her knees, curling into him as they both slouched against the wall and held each other tightly, his face buried in the crook of her neck, fighting back tears while he squeezed her from where his arm wrapped around her waist.

"It's not fair," she said, and he ran his hand up and down her back when she began to tremble.

"No, it's not," was all he could reply, holding her tighter.

There are days in the life of those in their line of work, where they are powerless, unable to help someone no matter what they do, and it makes them question everything, their sanity, their skills, their calling. After all, what good are you as a doctor if you can't save a life?

Today had been one of those days. A little girl died right before their eyes, even while they did the impossible to keep her alive. An armed jerk had opened fire in a playground, and this sweet child's life had ended in a matter of hours afterward. All throughout the process of attending to her, the one thing she had asked for was to see her mommy, and she didn't even get to do that because she died on the table.

It was the first time they'd lost a patient so young, and it had disturbed them, watching the life drain out of her while the man responsible for the three gunshots that brought her down left the ER with barely more than a scratch.

Though Chris had only known Eva for the eight months he'd been working at Miami Trauma One, they had become good enough friends that he noticed when she was down, when she needed someone. He noticed the way she retracted from the world, the way she closed in on herself and walked out without saying a word in protest when Dr. Rayner sent them home that day. The usual spark that made her _her _was absent from her eyes and Chris knew, he just knew that she needed him right now, probably just as much as he needed her, and so he had followed her home, because neither of them should be alone right now, not after what had happened today.

"Four years old and we couldn't save her," Eva's voice said from where her face hid on his shoulder now.

"We did everything we could," he said, but it sounded hollow, the automatic response he was used to giving families when he couldn't do anything for their loved one.

"What use are we if we can't save a little girl from something she has absolutely no fault over, Chris? What good am I if I can't…" but she couldn't speak anymore, she was shaking too much, sobbing too much, and he held her as he raised them both up, walking into her apartment with her and settling them both on the couch. His hands cupped her face, wiping away tears even as she refused to look at him.

"It wasn't our fault," he said, his eyes wild, he couldn't take the sight of her so sad and broken.

"It was our job to save her, and we didn't," she told him, shaking her head while he continued to hold her face in his hands, moving her and bringing their foreheads together.

"It wasn't our fault," he said again, whispering it against her cheek this time, his lips catching some of the tears that fell from her eyes. Eva sniffled and took a deep breath, trying to calm down the tremors that were running through her body. His touch seemed to soothe her, so with their foreheads still touching, he let his hands run down the sides of her face, to her neck and her shoulders and down her arms to hold her hands, his thumbs rubbing in circles on her skin when their fingers laced together, and she sighed before separating her face from his and resting her head against his chest, her hands letting go of his and going up so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

Something about the contact, the way they anchored themselves to each other, helped make her shallow breaths come easier, until her shaking had stopped and she was calm enough to look up at him. Her eyes were sad, and Chris raised a hand to her chin, holding it as he planted a kiss on her forehead and then, for some inexplicable reason, he leaned in and kissed her lips.

He had no idea why he'd done it, but he pulled away fast, apologizing over and over, until Eva shut him up by planting her lips on his again.

She was fire and he was burning, holding her closer, tighter, his hands roaming her back as she climbed on top of him and pushed him down on the couch, straddling him. It took a few minutes before common sense penetrated the haze of his befuddled mind, and he held her firmly and parted their mouths before speaking.

"Eva, this is… should we be doing this?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Probably not, but I don't want to stop," she told him.

"Neither do I," he replied, and after a few shallow breaths, they were kissing again, but this time it was sweet, unhurried, with a tenderness neither of them expected, and Eva's tiny whimper made Chris stop for a moment, moving to sit up on the couch. Slowly, he removed her shirt, his fingers lingering against her skin as he moved the fabric upwards, his lips flying to her neck once the garment was discarded.

His hands threaded in her hair as they kissed, and then he moaned when he felt her start to remove his shirt, her nails raking against the taut skin of his stomach. They tasted each other, learned each other, and it felt significant somehow, like it wasn't just two hurt people comforting each other, but more like it was something they'd been desperate to do and hadn't realized it until now. They'd always been attracted to each other, that much was obvious, but neither of them was prepared for the onslaught of feelings that this act was stirring in them. It felt wrong and it felt right at the same time, and Chris marveled at the beauty that was Eva, sitting on top of him in her jeans and bra, staring down at him with hooded eyes.

"I need you," he whispered, his words placeholders for all these other emotions coursing through him that he couldn't name.

"I need you, too," Eva whispered back, understanding exactly how he felt. She then leaned forward, her lips on his again, tongues dancing, savoring, enjoying.

His hands trembled when he attempted to remove her bra, and she stopped kissing him and moved her arms away from his bare chest in order to help him, undoing the clasp at her back and dropping the ice blue lace that covered her. Chris let his hands leave her waist, dragging them along her sides and up, up, up until he reached her breasts. She moaned at the feeling of his hands on her, and suddenly she was crashing her lips to his again, fast and hard and needy now as she began to rock her hips where she sat on his lap, and there was a primal, guttural sound that came from Chris as he felt the heat from her body. With fumbling hands and unsteady fingers, he removed the rest of her clothes, arching his waist up when she hurriedly hooked her fingers in his belt loops to do the same.

They were desperate now, needy moans and pants coming from both of them as they rocked into each other, and Eva's tongue traced a wet trail from his jaw and down to his chest, his stomach, and back up as she stroked him, her name no more than a whimper on his lips as he writhed under her touch. His eyes were closed so he saw nothing, but frowned when her hand left him, only to gasp when he felt her wet heat enveloping him as she sank into him.

"Oh, god!" he groaned, his hands flying to her hips and keeping her steady for a moment while he soaked up the incredible feeling, reveling in her warmth. She was gasping again when he moved his hands back to her breasts, teasing her nipples before sitting up and latching his lips to each hardened peak in turn, gently biting down on the delicious skin there while she rolled her hips and he thrust upwards and into her, hard and fast and _perfect, _and his name left her mouth in a cry of pleasure as her orgasm ripped through her, wave after wave, his breath heavy on her neck as he came with her_._

Chris leaves Eva's apartment and neither of them speaks of that night ever again. That is, until three years later, when they lose another patient under similar circumstances, a boy this time, with a gunshot that goes straight through his left lung. They lose him seconds after they get him into surgery and the feeling of déjà vu grips them, and this time, when Dr. Proctor sends them home to take a breather because they are too overwhelmed to continue working, it's Eva who follows Chris home.

She doesn't even need to knock, as Chris leaves the door open for her, knowing she'd show up. Her arms wrap around him instantly.

"I'm so sorry," she tells him, and he trembles a little as he hugs her back.

"Me too," is all he says, planting a kiss on her neck. It's gotten easier to deal with the death of patients over the years, but this is only the second time they've lost a kid, and it hurts them just as much as the first one did.

They slip into their old pattern, where his touch and her kisses serve to comfort each other and they sink into the oblivion that they itch to provide one another, but this time, when it's over, she doesn't move from her spot next to him, doesn't scramble for her clothes. Instead, she holds him, her arm draped over his chest as he lies on his back with her curled at his side.

"I've missed you," he says quietly, and she freezes.

"Chris…" she begins, but he shakes his head.

"I can't do this, Eva," he tells her, and there's a panic in her eyes when he says it, but she misunderstands, because he wants her, of course he wants her.

"I mean, I don't want it to be just this."

"What are you talking about?" she asks.

"Why did you ask me to leave that night?" he retorts, memories of her hurried goodbye and her plea to never speak of what had happened plaguing him as he speaks.

"We were grieving, that's it, just like we are now. I didn't want it to be construed as something else. I didn't want you to feel like you owed me anything."

"Eva—"

"We were hurting and wanted to be there for each other, things got a little out of hand, and after it happened, I panicked. I don't regret it, not really, but you're my best friend, Chris. I didn't want anything to get in the way of that."

"And tonight?" he asks her.

"I just… needed you," she says, focusing her gaze on the lazy pattern she's drawing on his chest, and she's lost in the feeling of his skin beneath her fingertips. He holds her tighter, bringing her closer as he plants a kiss on her forehead.

"I needed you too," he tells her, "but that's the thing, it's not just this, it's not just tonight. I always need you, Eva."

His revelation catches her by surprise, and she props herself up on her arm to look at him.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"I want you. I want _us_," he answers simply.

"Chris we can't," she says.

"Why not? This works, Eva. You and me, it works."

"We could screw it up and then we'd despise each other."

"I don't think it's possible for me to despise you no matter what you do," he says, letting the back of his hand run up and down her cheek, and she closes her eyes, reveling in the contact. Chris presses a kiss on her brow, then another on her lips, soft and brief.

"What do you feel?" he asks her, and she takes a deep breath, looking down where his hand has just joined with hers, her hair falling to her face.

"I don't know what I feel… but I know it's never been like this with anyone else," she confesses.

"Is that why you're afraid?"

"Maybe," she admits still not looking at him, and he lets go of her hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, then tilts her chin up so he can meet her eyes when he speaks.

"It's never been this way for me, either. Look, I can't tell you I won't mess up, because I'm an idiot when it comes to you, so of course I'll do something to piss you off at some point," he says, and they grin at each other because they know he's right, but they also know she can never stay mad at him for long, as he's always finds ways to make her smile, make her giddy. It's how they work, it's _why_ they work.

"But I _can _promise that I won't ever stop being your friend. I don't just want _this_, Eva," he tells her, gesturing to their current state, "I want all of you. Every part of you, whether good or bad, I want it."

He kisses her once more, and when they part, she smiles, and there's an openness to that smile that lets Chris know he's got his answer, that there's the _yes_ he's been hoping for.

"Are you sure about this?" she asks, hesitating for a moment, and he kisses her again, her warm, soft lips responding to his immediately.

"I've been sure about this since the day I met you, Eva," he says, smiling against her mouth before hugging her to him.

They lie in each other's arms, the promise of a future together lifting the somber mood that had settled in them earlier, and as his lips drop kisses in her hair, Eva sighs and drifts off to sleep with a small grin on her face, because she knows deep down that Chris is right, this _works_. They're good together, they're stronger together. They always have been.

* * *

_**Good? Bad? Beige?**_

_**Leave a review!**_

_**-B**_


	3. Tell Me a Secret

**_I cannot stop writing about these two adorable idiots omg_**

**_This is for an anon request I got on Tumblr, the prompt was: Eva/Chris + "Can I tell you a secret?"_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_-B_**

* * *

Eva pretends not to notice the way Chris is looking at her as she makes her way to the locker rooms. She also pretends not to notice that he follows her, acting completely nonchalant as she changes into her scrubs and ties her hair back. But then she feels his arms snake around her from behind and she can't pretend anymore.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaims when she feels his lips on the side of her neck, but she tilts her head to the side all the same, enjoying his attentions.

"I'm kissing you hello, and if you want me to stop being mad at you, you'll let me," he said in a mock-stern tone.

"You're mad at me?" she asked, smirking as she turned in his arms.

"Yes, you left before I woke up this morning, you know how much I hate that," he was serious now, and she noticed the way his eyes darted away from hers for a moment.

"I needed a shower," she told him.

"I have one in my apartment, you know?"

"Yes but I didn't have my clothes with me, and I doubt we'd be able to hide this any longer if I showed up to work in last night's dress and smelling of your cologne," she said practically.

"I don't understand why we have to hide at all."

"Chris…" she began.

"Eva…" he said in the same tone.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Sure."

"I kinda like the sneaking around," she said with a smirk.

"Oh, you do, huh?" he played along, tightening his hold on her waist and looking around to make sure they were alone before he bent down to place a kiss on her lips.

"Mm hmm," she said against his lips, her nose brushing against his as she nodded, "it's a bit of a turn on, don't you think?"

Chris throws a cheeky grin at her, letting out a breath as he laces his fingers at the small of her back and draws her closer.

"Well, in that case, can I see you in the scrub closet at noon?"

"Why, Dr. Deleo, are you trying to seduce me?" she asks, arching herself up against him and loving the way his eyes darken when her breasts press up against his chest.

"As a matter of fact, I am, Dr. Zambrano. You interested?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Very," she replies, indulging in one more kiss before she pulls away from him and watches him walk out of the room, and she smiles in anticipation. Noon cannot come soon enough.


	4. You Matter to Me

**_Another prompt from my lovely friend and writing buddy Kris._**

**_Hope you guys like it!_**

**_-B_**

* * *

The bar is crowded tonight, some college kids celebrating a 21st birthday, it seems, and Chris would be angry at their carelessness if it weren't for the fact that he did the exact same thing when he was their age.

Pushing through a group of the plastered little idiots, he manages to make it to the bar and order two beers, asking the bartender to put them on his tab and keep them coming to their table outside so that he doesn't have to navigate his way through the cluster of drunken fools again. The guy nods, laughs at his comment and goes back to work, and Chris turns to walk back to his table, where a stunning brunette is waiting. When he looks up though, he notices that she's not at the table where he left her, but backed up against the wall by some jerk who clearly does not understand that no means no.

As he stalks over to them, weaving his way through the partying crowd, he notices that the douche is trying to kiss her, and Eva keeps moving her head to the opposite side, pushing at him with her hands, her eyes dangerous and angry as she tries to knee him in the groin, but that only seems to spur him on, and suddenly he's holding both her wrists over her head in one hand and clamping the other on her mouth to keep her from screaming, and there are so many people around that no one notices, no one but Chris, who is already bumping against the last of the obstacles on his way to her.

When he reaches them, he doesn't even stop to think, dropping the beers and grabbing the guy by the arm, turning him around to face him.

"Leave her alone," he seethes, and Eva's frozen against the wall, still a little shaken, but she finds her voice.

"It's fine, Chris, I can handle it," she says, but the drunk asshole is speaking over her.

"This is none of your concern, pretty boy, she and I are getting along just fine," he drawls, edging towards Eva, reaching back to grab her rear and bring her closer to him, a move that angers her enough to make her slap the guy and try to get away.

"Oh feisty, I like that in a woman," he says, moving forward again, but Chris stops him, pulling him back and punching him in the face the second he's able to. After that, everything happens incredibly fast, there's bottles flying all over the place, and a fist connects with Chris's stomach, his nose, the side of his head, but the guy's drunk out of his mind so his punches are uncoordinated and faulty, and Chris takes the advantage and slams headfirst into his stomach, dragging him towards a wall and pushing him against it, his knees kicking up into his stomach, his fists connecting with the guy's jaw until there's blood, and suddenly the man has a broken bottle in his hand and hits Chris with it around the head, almost knocking him to the ground.

The bartender has called security, and three big, burly men break up the fight, one of them holding Chris while the other two kick out the drunken ass that had started it all.

"You're a regular and you tip well, so I'm not going to call the cops on you, but if you want to enter this establishment again, you'll leave your Rocky complex at home, understood?" the bartender asks a battered Chris, who nods and thanks him before he takes Eva's hand and leaves.

She snatches her hand back from him as they get into her Jeep and she drives them to his apartment, her face set in a scowl as they ride through the streets of Miami, her grip on the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles turn white. She gets out of the car when they reach their destination and watches him limp his way to the elevator, his left hand clutching his right side, the right corner of his lip showing a small gash while his left eye is puffy and swollen.

Watching him collapse on the couch when they enter his apartment, Eva scrambles around the place, grabbing some ice from the freezer and wrapping it up in a washcloth. When he looks up at her from his spot, he realizes she's pacing hurriedly from one side of the kitchen to the other, huffing impatiently.

"You're making me dizzy," he jokes, and she glares at him.

"You're an idiot," she snaps.

"You're welcome," he says indignantly, and she glares at him some more.

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?!" she barks back.

"The guy was violating you! What the hell was I supposed to do?!"

"You were supposed to let me handle it!"

"Eva, come on, you were scared out of your mind. I saw the look on your face when he touched you."

"That may be, but I would've gotten rid of him nonetheless. It is not your place to defend my honor, Chris, we're not in the dark ages," she fires back.

"Well excuse me for wanting to protect someone I care about!" he shouts.

At his words, Eva's eyes soften, letting out a long, exhausted breath as she watches him. Slowly, she removes her shoes and pads into the living room, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of him and leaning close to his face, pressing the ice to his busted lip for a few seconds, then moving it to his eye.

"You took quite a beating," she says, her voice void of the anger she had been spewing at him only minutes before. He sighs at her touch when she rests her other hand on his cheek, her thumb rubbing back and forth across it while she continues pressing the ice to his eye.

"Eh, it was worth it," he answers with a smile and a shrug, winking his good eye at her, and she chuckles lightly, letting the hand on his cheek fall down to his arm, where her fingers rub smooth circles over his skin.

"I had it under control," she finally said, but there was no bite to her tone, only a wish to make him understand that she can hold her own.

"I know that. I've been on the receiving end of your punches, Eva, I know you can kick ass. I actually kind of idolize you for it," he replies with a smile.

"Then why the hell didn't you let me handle it on my own?" she asks, her exasperation clear on her face.

"Because you shouldn't have to. You matter to me, Eva, and you deserve to have someone take care of you," he answers, and the sincerity in his voice rocks her.

They're sitting awfully close now, not having realized that they'd been leaning more and more towards each other while they spoke, and Eva moves the ice away from his face, sets it next to him on the couch and slowly lets her eyes fall shut. When he closes what little space is left between them, Chris sighs, intoxicated by the blissful jolt of electricity that comes with feeling of her lips on his. The kiss is unhurried, sweet, a lingering touch of his mouth against hers before they pull apart.

"What was that for?" he asks her, "not that I'm complaining."

"For protecting me. For caring," she concedes, and he smiles at her tenderly, a hand reaching up to play with her hair.

"I'll always have your back, you know that. That said, if I had known this is what it would take to get you to kiss me, I would've gotten my ass kicked a long time ago," he told her, making her roll her eyes.

"You're such a sap," she admonishes, but she's smiling.

"You love it," he teases, his hand moving from her hair over to her cheek, and he's startled when she turns her head and kisses his palm.

"Yes, I do," she admits before leaning in to kiss him again. This time it's longer, and their lips move together slowly, learning each other, tongues darting out to taste and play, and there's a tiny moan that escapes her when he gently bites down on her bottom lip that only cements for him his desire to kiss her forever.

As they begin to lose their hesitance, their embrace becomes a little more heated, with one of his hands threading in her hair again, both of hers roaming his chest, but when she sucks on his lower lip, he hisses and pulls away.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," she says, mortified when she realizes she's hurt him, her thumb ghosting over the wound on his lip, but he's shaking his head at her, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Don't be," he replies before leaning forward and engulfing her lovely mouth with his again.


	5. A One-Time Thing

**_I'm supposed to be cooling it with the prompts so I can focus on finishing Take My Heart Back (multi-chapter fics are the devil, JSYK), but I received this anon request on Tumblr and it turns out I can't resist Eva/Chris, especially when there is so little fanfiction of them out there, so here you go!_**

**_As always, I do not own these characters (if I did, the show would've lasted more than one season)_**

**_The request asked for smut so this chapter is rated M_**

**_Hope you guys like it._**

**_-B_**

* * *

She didn't hear him approach the on-call room, didn't even notice when he locked the door behind him and brought down the blinds so that no one could disturb them, but there was a pull, a warm tug in her chest that alerted her to his presence.

She turned to find him staring at her. She'd been in the middle of changing into her work clothes, so the tight shirt she came in with was off, thrown haphazardly on her locker while the scrub top she was putting on rested upside down, her arms halfway through the sleeves.

"What are you doing?" Eva asked, but the smirk on her face told him she knew.

"Watching you," he answered anyway, smiling at her devilishly and raking his gaze over her body, wanting nothing more than to touch her.

Stepping forward, Chris stretched his hands out to caress her bare shoulders and down her arms, dragging the fabric along with them until it pooled at her feet and she was standing there in just her scrub pants and pale blue bra.

"You're a very sexy woman, Dr. Zambrano," he drawled, stepping closer and letting his lips fall on her neck, the tip of his tongue darting out to taste her, "it's quite distracting."

"Is that so?" she asked, but her voice caught on the last word, making it come out in a gasp instead of the sultry tone she'd intended to use, and he grinned against her skin.

"Yes, very, very distracting. Unbearably so."

"And what do you plan to do about it, Dr. Deleo?" she asked, knowing the effect it would have on him. Sure enough, he moaned into her shoulder when he heard her.

"God, Eva. You know what it does to me when you call me that," he growled as he rocked his hips into hers, and she could feel him, hard and ready against her thigh.

"You can't just get me all hot and bothered and not expect payback," she said, pulling back to wink at him with a mischievous smile on her face, and he laughed softly before he wrapped his arms around her waist and crashed his lips to hers.

With a sexy little whimper that drove Chris crazy, Eva hoisted herself up against him, letting him lift her and crash her against the lockers behind her, the loud, metallic thud echoing in the room.

"If anyone finds us, I swear I will kill you," she rasped against his mouth, and he was breathing heavily as he replied with a smirk and an evil glint in his eye.

"That's part of the thrill, though, isn't it?" he asked, and she couldn't deny that yes, it definitely was, so she brought her mouth back down to his instead of answering, kissing him with a force that made him stumble backwards a little as he struggled to remove what was left of her clothes.

It had been like this for a month now. Ever since he plucked up the courage to kiss her after they'd both had a little too much tequila at the bar. He'd been mortified, knowing he'd screwed up, but then Eva had kissed him back and he was lost.

No one knew of their affair, and they refused to tell anyone until they had time to define it, to be sure that it was going somewhere, but they'd jumped in bed together, and now they couldn't get enough of each other, making it difficult to stay at a professional enough distance in the workplace so as not to raise suspicions.

Chris had always flirted with her when they worked, but now his words and smiles had new meanings behind them, and it made Eva blush and look away as she tried not to giggle, and then they couldn't keep their hands off each other, finding places to hide in the hospital while they made out like teenagers and sometimes even made it to third base before they were interrupted by the annoying beeping of their pagers, letting them know that their presence was required elsewhere. Today was different, though. They had just gotten into work and had yet to report themselves to Dr. Proctor, their devices were off, and no one would miss them for a while.

He was desperate now, insistent as he moved against her, and she dropped her legs to the floor in order to undress him, her hands lingering in the sensitive areas she had learned when she'd explored his body in her bed. He groaned into her mouth as she removed his boxers, and then he was slamming her against the wall again, panting as he kissed her.

His tongue licked at the seam of her lips, and she gladly granted him passage, letting him taste her just as she tasted him, savoring every brush of his lips, every sweep of his tongue. Her skin was on fire where he touched it, and the way he bit at her bottom lip before he dropped his head to her neck had her writhing against him in ecstasy. No one had ever felt like this, no one had ever made her feel so wild and free and cherished all at the same time, and it was a high she never wanted to come down from.

"God, you're beautiful," he rasped against her breasts a couple of minutes later, taking one nipple into his mouth and giving it a hard suck before moving to the other, his teeth gently nipping, tongue licking a soothing trail in their wake. Eva dropped her hand down the center of his chest and stomach, reveling in the way his abs seemed to contract when she touched them. Finally, her hand reached its awaited destination, wrapping around him and loving the warmth and feel of the skin of his shaft as she squeezed slightly. He jerked against her in response.

"Eager, are we?" she teased in that husky voice that could get him to do whatever she wanted.

"For you? Always," he replied, dropping to his knees and not even giving her a moment to realize what he was doing before he took a long lick between her thighs, eliciting a loud moan from her that reverberated through his body.

Spreading her legs for him as her head lolled back against the metallic surface behind her, Eva threaded her hands in his hair, pulling it as his fingers ventured into her slick center, his tongue never ceasing its attentions to her clit as she rocked her hips into him, and she could sense herself bordering the edge, could feel her muscles clenching as she neared the delicious high only he could bring her.

"Chris," she breathed, and he instantly knew what she wanted. Getting back up on his feet, he took a condom out of his discarded pants and rolled it on, then hooked his arms under hers and lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as her back leaned against the lockers for purchase. When he entered her, her head fell against his shoulder, and the cry of pleasure that left her lips vibrated against his neck.

"Shh," Chris chastised with a breathy chuckle, "someone will hear you."

"Let them hear," Eva replied, her voice raspy, her movements needy as she rocked against him, desperate for more. He took that as his queue and began moving, his thrusts hard and deep but slow enough to keep her just _there_, without falling over the abyss that awaited them.

He wanted to prolong this feeling, but he knew time wasn't on their side, so after a few more minutes of lazy, blissful movements that drew harsh gasps and guttural moans from their mouths, Chris picked up the pace, and Eva bit his shoulder to keep from screaming, rolling her hips in the way she knew he loved as he continued pounding into her again and again, panting naughty, fantastic things in her ear about how wet she was, how much he loved being inside her like this, how much it thrilled him to hear her say his name in that delicious throaty voice of hers.

She came with a breathy cry, slumping against him as he moved even faster, and she gasped at the sensation of him filling her over and over again while she rode out her orgasm, biting down on his shoulder to stop herself from screaming, hands clawing at his bare back, nails digging into his skin. After a few more thrusts, a primal, uninhibited growl escaped him, and he murmured her name as he joined her at the height of their pleasure.

It took them both a few minutes to catch their breaths and when they did, they refused to move, merely touching their foreheads together and smiling at each other like idiots.

"That was…" Chris started, but trailed off because he couldn't possibly find a word to describe it.

"I know," Eva replied, sharing his sentiment.

"I should walk in on you in the on-call room more often," he taunted, and she snickered, hitting him playfully on the shoulder.

"That was a one-time thing," she admonished, "we can't do this in the workplace, Chris, if we get caught…"

"I know, I understand. It's just… you're so damn irresistible," he said, a sincerity in his voice that made her breath catch as she kissed him again, chastely this time.

"Likewise," she admitted with a wink, "but we have to learn how to restrain ourselves. We're adults, we can have some decorum, right?"

"Right," he answered, nodding solemnly before his lips met hers again.

They tried, they really did, but after two days, decorum went right out the window, and it never returned.


	6. Giving In

_**Got this prompt from the lovely Emily over on Tumblr: "After seeing Eva with April, Chris decides to tell Eva that he wants a child with her. Set during ep 1x09."**_

_**I meant to write it a little bit lighter, with some banter and jokes, but then this sad cheese fest is what came out... I don't even know what came over me lol but I'll give it another try if you'd like something more chipper and less... you know... intense.**_

* * *

He watches her give comfort to that little girl, watches her and loves her for it. It's been burning in him, the need to tell her, to touch her and hold her and tell her that everything she's suffered, everything that weighs her down, he loves all of it. But it's not until she sees her here, with tiny April on her lap, that Chris realizes he wants everything, absolutely everything with her.

It's a realization that throws him off kilter, because they haven't even kissed yet, but it burns him, because he's never been more sure of anything in his life as he is of his feelings for Eva, and he tells her as much later that day, when he catches her in a corner on the floor of the changing room, knees drawn up to her chest as she cries.

"Shh, it's okay," he says as he draws her into his arms, hugs her tightly to his chest as he rubs his hand up and down her back, dropping kisses on her brow, her hair.

"How is it that everything can go awry so quickly over one tiny thing?" she asks him, and he has no answer for her, only hugs her tighter and moves his hand to cup her cheek and look into her eyes.

He realizes they'd been leaning towards each other, mouths opening slightly, when the moment is broken by the blaring beep of their pagers, and they scramble to their feet, Eva rubbing at her eyes and steeling herself, fingers combing through her hair hurriedly. He stops her, makes her drop her hands and threads his own fingers in her dark tresses, fixing it for her and using his thumbs to wipe away the last of her tears.

It turns out, April had returned from visiting her mother and was looking for Eva, but had a bit of a breakdown when she couldn't find her, so Serena had paged her to bring her over. The girl jumps into Eva's arms and hugs her, and Chris feels his heart skip a beat. When Eva puts the girl down and watches her walk to the vending machine at the end of the hall, Chris turns to her.

"I want one," he tells her. Probably not the best way to broach the subject, but he always seems to say silly things he doesn't mean to disclose when he's around her.

She looks at him, smiles through watery eyes, then looks back at April as she chooses what to eat.

"I want one… with you," he says then, because he might as well admit it now. His words startle her for a moment, and she frowns when she looks back at him.

"You what?"

"Eva, you know I have feelings for you. Hell, everyone in this hospital knows I have feelings for you."

"April," she calls to the girl, "I'm going into the locker rooms for a minute, alright? I'll be back in just a bit, wait for me here."

Suddenly he's being dragged by the hand into the darkened on-call room again, and she's looking at him with wild eyes.

"What's wrong, Chris?" she asks. Not what he was expecting.

"Nothing's wrong, why would it be?"

"Because we've never so much as flirted and now you're telling me you want to have a child with me."

"Actually, we flirt all the time," he says, wiggling his eyebrows, but she's not amused, glares at him instead. Chris sighs then, looking down for a moment at the hand he's just joined with hers, smiling when he realizes she's not pulling away.

"Life can change so fast. We saw that today. I guess I just… got tired of waiting for the right moment."

"What exactly are you saying?" he's confused her, he knows that now, and he mentally kicks himself for it, because he knows her, knows she might run after this sloppy confession he's thrown her way, just as he knows he'll follow her if she does.

"I'm saying that I want us to be together," he tells her firmly, his hand letting go of hers and lodging on her waist, "you're smart, and gorgeous, and funny, and you never let me get away with anything. You're sexy, and confident, and the best trauma surgeon I know."

"Chris—" she starts, and she's going to back away, he can feel it, can sense her instinct taking over, so he moves his other hand, the one that was hanging limply at his side, and cups her cheek with it as he lands his lips on hers. It's brief, but he feels her responding, and he takes that as his queue to continue, dragging teeth across her bottom lip, then letting the tip of his tongue trail over it, her hands finding purchase on his waist and pulling herself closer to him.

She catches herself before it can get too deep, parts their lips with a wet sound and looks at him, eyes frantic.

"I'll give you a minute," he says before she can speak, and then he's drawing his body away from hers, but she grabs his hand before he can fully turn to leave.

"No, don't," she says as she stops him, voice trembling. Suddenly she's against him, and her lips are on him again, losing their hesitance, their warmth and sweet taste overwhelming him even as he melts into the kiss, a hand threading in her hair while the other grabs her waist, and then they stop, and with her lips still against his, she utters four little words that light up his entire world.

"I want this, too."


End file.
